XTreme XMen: When the Opportunity Comes
by Hypnos
Summary: The All New, All Different X-Treme Team!
1. Chapter 1

Part I One Month Ago. Three figures sat a small round table in a brightly-lit room that had to be the size of the average living room. Two women and one man were discussing some of their current issues, namely their lack of team members. One of the women was busy typing away a laptop. "What's on today's schedule?" the dark-skinned man asked. The man was known as Bishop. He was a time traveler, from the far away future, who now made a permanent home in the present day. He turned his attention towards the woman known as Ororo Munroe. "I think that we should address our present team, what little team we have. Since the others members decided to leave, I believe we should recruit some new members. Tessa, are in on this conversation?" It was kind of ironic that the team's living computer, known as Sage, was operating a computer. Not because she didn't know how to operate one, but because she had the storage capacity equivalent to that of a computer. "Of course I am, Ororo. I agree. Our current roster is lower than normal. Given our current status, we are not operating at full capacity. I've been searching the Cerebra Files that I downloaded from Xavier, hoping to find some worthy individuals." Tessa continued to tap away at the keyboard. Bishop continued where Tessa left off. "Are there any particular qualities that we are looking for?" Bishop was always a stickler for experience. There was no use in having amateurs on the team. "I believe that we should look for members based on their experience. Powers alone won't get you anywhere. We need people who have on- the-field experience." "Yes, we do. Especially with what happened at the Institute with the Omega Gang." Ororo picked up the conversation. "And now that the Friends of Humanity have started to show their faces again, we need then more now then ever. We are in dire straits." "I found them; the perfect candidates for the team. Five individuals who are more than qualify." Tessa turned the laptop around so her teammates could see. Five pictures, four females and one male, occupied the screen. Ororo nodded her head in agreement. Bishop gave a look of concern. "Are you sure about them? They're just a bunch of teenagers." Bishop could be quite prejudiced when it came to young people. He didn't have time to be anyone's parent. "Just a bunch of teenagers? Is that how you see them, Lucas?" Ororo came to their defense quickly. "They also happen to be some of the most powerful people on the planet. They've more proven themselves. The five of them together have more experience than the three of us combined." Tessa just sat back and nodded her head. "It seems I was a little quick to judge. I must admit; they are worthy in my eyes." Bishop decided to give up a losing battle. He wasn't going to win against two women. "So I guess this mean that phone calls are in order?" Tessa smiled. She picked up the phone that was at the desk. "We only need to contact Jubilee and Kitty. The others are still residing at the institute. We can contact them through Xavier himself. That won't be a problem. But." Ororo suggested to Tessa. She hesitated a bit, putting her hand to her chin. Something was obviously bothering her. "But what? What is it, Ororo? Is something wrong?" Bishop asked. He knew what was wrong. It didn't take the skills of a telepath to know what was wrong. "It's just that.I'm worried about Kitty. I don't know if it's the right thing to do. We shouldn't force her to do something she doesn't want to do." Ororo replied. Bishop placed a hand over hers. "We're not forcing her. We just giving her a choice; if she doesn't accept, we can always find someone else." Bishop reassured her. "I suppose you're right, Lucas. But I do hope that she decides to join us." They watched as Tessa read the screen. Her fingers moved swiftly across the keypad. Mentally, Ororo crossed her fingers, hoping against hope that her "kitten" would decide to join them. Los Angeles, California Jubilee sat at the small table in her small apartment. Everything around her seemed to be of a diminutive size. Her kitchen was small, her room, her bathroom, and even her apartment. It was all she could afford with her ever- decreasing salary. It seemed that every week someone else was taking a piece of her check. Being a waitress wasn't all it was cracked up to be. It was hard trying to find a cheap apartment, especially in Los Angeles. She often wondered how she was able to get by day to day. She did have a bigger apartment a while back, a year or so ago, only because she had a roommate to help with the payments. But he (Angelo Espinosa) was long gone by now. He was off to God knows where, probably returning to his former gang life. Jubilee and him had their last argument many months ago. She was fed up with all of his former enemies "homies" popping up at her door, looking for Angelo, either for some kind of debt or just to pick a fight. She packed her things, leaving a note telling him that she was fed up and couldn't take it anymore. Now here she was, alone in a small apartment, scraping change just to get by. Jubilee got up from her table and headed towards the bathroom, switching on the light that swung endlessly from the ceiling. She eyed her features in the mirror, well-worn lines engraved in her childlike face. She brushed back her raven-colored hair, revealing a large scar, which rested on her forehead; she sustained a few months back, during probably one of the biggest battles of her life. Jubilee was a former member of the X-Men; a group formed by Charles Xavier, which comprised of some of the most powerful beings on the face of the planet, Homo Sapiens Superior, also known as mutants. Mutants were beings who were born with superhuman powers and abilities. They were the next evolution of mankind and most times were hated for it, some even executed. She had jumped from one group to another, until she decided she would be better off away from the X-Men. But she knew she would always have a home with them. She always thought that she would come back to see her second family on a good occasion. But like most times, things don't turn out the way want them to. Ring, Ring. The phone rung, it's small ring filling the otherwise silent room. Jubilee dashed for the phone before it stopped. "Hello," she asked as she held the phone to her ear. A large smile spread across her face, something she hadn't done in a while. The person on the continued to talk and with every word, her smile grew. "This isn't a joke, is it?" she asked with a bit of concern. She tapped her fingers along the table, her smile turning in to grim expression. "Of course. How soon can I come?" Chicago, Illinois Kitty Pryde sat at her desk in her apartment. In front of her lay her diary, which contained her most personal thoughts. She was taking a small vacation of from work. She worked at the bar below her apartment, which was owned by her boss/landlord. She was in the process of making a decision, one that could ultimately change her life. She had just received a phone a not too long ago from a close and cherished friend of hers, Ororo Munroe. She had given an offer, more of a choice to be exact. She wanted her, along with a few other people to consider rejoining the X-Men. Kitty had once been a member of the X-Men, under the codename of Shadowcat. The X-Men were a group of superhuman beings that tried to make peace between humans and mutants. More oft than not, everyone wasn't too keen on the idea. Life as an X-Man had its ups and downs, with the downs far outweighing the ups. She never thought she would ever return. She really hadn't given it much thought. She had lost so many people, the main reason she quit the X-Men in the first place. Her first true love and her best friends. So many lives were lost and she didn't know if she had the heart to join the X-Men. She decided that there wasn't much for her to do now. Although she tried to change it, her life was exactly same as when she was an X-Man. Things weren't looking good for her these days. She was on probation at school for beating up a few kids and had to take mandatory counseling. And just recently she had gotten over her problem with alcohol. What a life I live? What else could possibly go wrong in my life? She had made her decision. She picked up the phone and dialed the number that she had scribbled in her diary. "Ororo?" she asked when her call was received. "Yeah, it's Kitty. About that offer." At least being with the X-Men, she wouldn't have to live her life in the worst way possible: alone. 


	2. Chapter 2

Present Day, The War Room Blasts and bullets could be heard from the control room of the War Room. Bishop eyed the group of people that were occupying the room below. Next to him, Tessa sat at a monitor, which was displaying what the man saw in the room below. At the same time she was busying typing away on the keyboard. Bishop returned his attention and watched as one girl walked through one of the androids, its circuitry shorting out as a result. He briefly turned his head and watched as two other girls were both taking down a larger android. One of them was flying through the air, dodging its fiery blasts, as the other girl was launching a pink arrow made out of psychic energy. The young man, the only one of the group, was shooting some sort of energy from his face. The young Chinese girl was also occupied with another android. She as well was successful in taking him down, rolling into a crouch, blasting him with a shower of pyrotechnics. Now the room was littered with scraps of metal and wiring from the former androids. This signaled the end of their training session. "Tessa, could you shut down the program, please?" the man asked in a rather rough voice. He placed his hands along the window of the control room and leaned forward. "I'm one thought ahead of you, Bishop." The woman pressed a few keys on the computer. In an instant, the room transformed from a busy city street to an empty steel gray room. "I have to say, they are getting better each and every day. They've come a long way in the past month. But I'm a little worried about Kitty. She seems to be a little distraught. I know we didn't force her to come here; she made that choice on her on free will. I just hope when it comes time to actually get down and dirty, she'll be with the team." Bishop voiced his concern about Kitty to Tessa. "She'll be ready. She has it in her. You would feel the same too if you kept losing the people that were close to you." She went on. "They're all just a little bit rusty. It 's been a while since they have been on the battlefield. Just give them some time, Lucas." They both looked around towards the window. They heard a small thump and a flash of light hit the window. It could have only been one person. He looked down and saw one of the girls jumping and waving her arms. Bishop grabbed the microphone and flipped the switch. "What is it, Jubilee?" he said. Normally, if Jubilee had done that trick before, she would have succeeded in breaking the glass. Now she had a somewhat good understanding of how her powers worked, which was the ability to create energy plasmoids; she had instead called them her "fireworks". She was able to control the intensity of the plasmoids. Others made fun of Jubilee and her fireworks, mainly her enemies. What they don't know is that she's able of creating explosions similar to those created by atomic bombs, if only she put her mind to it. She could level a whole city if she wanted to. Jubilee put her hands on her hips. She was the impatient one of the group. She never liked the idea of standing in place for too long. "So are we, like, through with the session or what? I really don't like standing here, especially here in this room. It's too gray for my taste." She wasn't one to hold back what she felt. "I, for one, agree with Jubilation. There must be something we can do besides standing in this.this.I don't know what to say. I just don't like standing here." Monet folded her arms across her chest. Monet was the prissy one of the group. Everyone around her gave her the name of "Ms. Perfect" or "Ms. Prissy". It was true to a certain extent. Monet figured it was because people were jealous of her. She was attractive and had the intelligence to back it up. She was one tough girl, literally. She never backed down from a fight and she always said what was on her mind. "Alright, that's enough. We will give you some free time, but Tessa has something she would like to share with you. It is of some importance." Bishop switched off the microphone and spoke to Tessa. The group down below could barely hear what was being said. Bishop turned back towards the microphone. "Could you all come up here, please? This will only take a few minutes." They headed up the stairs that led to the control room. When they entered, they each took a spot against the wall. Sage made sure that she had all of their attention before speaking to them directly. "I have called you all in here because I want to talk to you about your training. For the next couple of months or so you will no longer training in the War Room." She stopped as they cheered in excitement. A smile spread across her face; she had a feeling that she was about to disappoint them. "Wait just one minute. That doesn't mean you won't be training at all." Jubilee was the first to respond. "But you said that we weren't going to be training. Now you're telling us we are. What's with the mind games, Tessa?" The others nodded their heads in agreement to Jubilee's statement. Tessa continued on. "What I meant was that you won't be doing any physical training. I want to try something different. I decided that I want to help the five of you to further develop you abilities." A few of them showed confused expressions. "You all already know the ways of the battlefield inside and out. I believe that all of you have the potential to become even more powerful." Kitty stepped up from her position on the wall. "More powerful? But we're some of the strongest mutants in the world. I mean, isn't that why you chose us?" Kitty was never the one to question the actions of other people, but this revelation was unknown to her. It made them, well her, feel as if they weren't confident in their abilities. Tessa nodded her head. "Yes, I agree with you 100%. You are some of the strongest mutants in the world, without a doubt. But I also chose the five of you because I saw the potential for you to grow stronger. But there are stronger enemies out there. The five of you, of all people, should know that." Tessa thought about what she was going to say next, but Kitty was one step ahead of her. "What exactly is up with all of this training? We should be out there helping people. We're always holed up in this place, training and working. When are we going to put this to use?" Kitty was a bit upset, more than usual. The others believed that it was due to personal problems and had nothing to do with the team. She very seldom did anything with the team. She was always up in her room, on the computer. Now the others were starting to get a bit worried. Kitty was being a little too harsh with Tessa. Jono was the first to step in the conversation. ~Kitty, you're getting a little too fresh with Tessa now, don't you think? She's just trying to help us. There's no need to get hostile. ~ Kitty turned towards Jono in anger. "Help? She's trying to help us? This coming from a guy who can't help himself!" Kitty stopped from saying anymore. She saw the hurt in Jono's eyes and reached out to touch him. Instinctively, he pulled away. "Jono, I'm sorry, I didn't mean to." ~No, don't worry about it. I'm not the one you need to apologize to. ~ He nodded his head in the direction of Tessa. Kitty turned and faced her. She now felt a thousand eyes upon her. She felt ashamed and embarrassed at what she had just done. She looked at the people around her; the people she considered family. What was I thinking? I wasn't thinking. How could I go off on her like that? How could I go off on Jono, of all people? "Tessa, I didn't mean to." she started to say. She held her down, unable to finish her statement. Tessa stood up and place a hand on her shoulder. "I understand, Kitty. I know that it's hard for you. You're just afraid of losing someone else." Tessa tried her best to console Kitty. "Maybe you should try talking to Ororo when she comes back. She's been a wreck every since we contacted you. She was afraid that you would pass on our offer." "Maybe it would it help. That's if I'm still around by the time she gets back." Kitty replied. She was caught between two choices. It had only been three weeks since she had been with the team. Now she was questioning whether or not she should stay. "Don't talk like that, Kitty. That's what we're here for. We're your friends," Dani stepped up and offered some words to Kitty. "I've known you longer than anyone. You're tough; whatever it is we'll help you through it." She put a hand to her shoulder. "We just want you to talk to us, ok?" Dani put an arm through Kitty's arm and started to walk away. "I know that you're here for me. I appreciate that. It's just that everything seems to be heading in the wrong direction." The rest of the group fell into place and started to head out of the door. Bishop and Tessa stood behind, watching them as they left. "Where do the five of you think that you are going?" Bishop didn't forget about Tessa's decision. "Hey, you said we had free time after the conversation!" Jubilee said from over her shoulder. "And you can't go back on your word!" Jubilee put up a hand and waved towards the two adults. "She's not finished with the conversation. You can't just walk out like that." Bishop remarked. "We don't see Tessa complaining now, do we?" Of all people, Monet was the one who made the comment. "You don't have a problem with it, do you Tessa?" Tessa shut down the computer and the power to the War Room. She put on her glasses and walked with the young group. "I certainly do not, Monet. How about we go cruise the mall?" The others turned and looked at Tessa in disbelief. Did they actually hear what they thought they heard? "Tessa, it looks like you've been spending too much time around Jubilee. You better watch out; she might became a bad influence on you," Kitty said, finally feeling a little better with herself. "Yeah, I said 'cruise the mall'. What's wrong with that?" Tessa looked back and forth between the members. They all had smiles upon their faces. "Was it something I said?" "No, it was something we didn't expect you to say!" Jubilee chimed in. The rest of the group cracked up in laughter as they left the room. 


End file.
